Marlins clip Mets 2-1 in club-record 20 innings

The longest game in franchise history ended 6 hours, 25 minutes after it began at 1:12 p.m.

The longest game in franchise history ended 6 hours, 25 minutes after it began at 1:12 p.m.

Juan C. Rodriguez, Sun Sentinel

NEW YORK With young aces Jose Fernandez and Matt Harvey starting Saturday’s Citi Field matinee, the odds of a pitching duel appeared pretty good. Both allowed a run over six and seven innings, respectively.

It took 14 more pitchers throwing 371 additional pitches to break the stalemate in the 20th inning.

Adeiny Hechavarria’s RBI-single off Shaun Marcum sent the Marlins to a 2-1 victory in the New York twilight. The longest game in terms of time in franchise history ended 6 hours, 25 minutes after it began at 1:12 p.m. As far as innings, it matched the Marlins’ longest game, a 7-6 loss to the Cardinals on April 27, 2003 at Sun Life Stadium.

“That’s the coolest win I’ve ever been a part of,” said closer Steve Cishek, who tossed a perfect 20th inning for his sixth save. “We’ve lost so many close games, so many walk-off games that we really needed something to go our way.”

The Marlins got a team record 14 scoreless innings of relief work, including seven from winning pitcher Kevin Slowey, to beat the Mets for the fifth straight time and snap a 10-game road losing streak. Fernandez and the seven relievers who followed held the Mets hitless in 19 at-bats with runners in scoring position, a franchise-worst.

“Tremendous effort by Slowey, wow,” manager Mike Redmond said. “You play 20 innings, you want to win. I mean, obviously. You play 20 innings you’ve got to win that game."

Entering the 20th, the Marlins were six for their last 46 (.130) and just 1-for-3 with runners in scoring position. Placido Polanco and Rob Brantly reached on one-out singles off Marcum, and Hechavarria followed with the game-winner on just the Marlins’ second at-bat with RISP in extra innings.

That was the lone run Marcum allowed during his eight innings of relief work.

The star of the game was Slowey. Before Saturday, the only club reliever ever to throw as many as five scoreless innings in a game was Burke Badenhop on June 2, 2009 against the Brewers. The most scoreless innings the bullpen had ever logged in a game was 8 2/3 last June 16 at Tampa.

“I know the season has been tough for us, but this is a great win,” said Slowey, the first pitcher to throw seven or more scoreless innings in relief since Rob Bell did it for the Rays on June 19, 2004. “It’s a great moment where you see guys kind of grow up and keep persevering and find a way to win a game. That’s what we’ve been searching for for a while.”

Defensively, both teams had a runner thrown out at the plate. Center fielder Juan Lagares threw out Hechavarria in the fifth trying to score from second on a Juan Pierre single. Marcell Ozuna and Brantly combined on a game-saving play in the 12th.

With runners at the corners and one out, John Buck lifted a fly ball down the right-field line. Ozuna caught it and from foul territory threw out Daniel Murphy coming home from third. The ball arrived well ahead of Murphy, who steamrolled Brantly.

“I felt like I went with the blow really well,” Brantly said. “It was just a perfect throw and a great job by Ozuna…I knew he was going to have to make an acrobatic throw, but I knew it was within his arsenal to do it.”

Added Ozuna, after his fifth outfield assist: “I ran around the ball to get behind it…I saw [Murphy] go forward thinking the ball was going to fall then he had had to run back [to tag] and lost time.”

When Fernandez and Harvey faced off for the first time on April 29 at Marlins Park the game ended in a 15-inning, 4-3 Marlins win. According to Elias, this is the first time since 1884 that the same two opposing pitchers started games that went 15 or more innings in the same season. The two pitchers: Jim Whitney and Old Hoss Radbourn for the Boston Beaneaters and Providence Grays, respectively.

During their 13 combined innings Fernandez and Harvey allowed two runs on nine hits (eight singles) with three walks and 13 strikeouts.

An elevated pitch count (97) prompted Fernandez’s exit after six. Harvey went out for the eighth and threw a couple of warm-up pitches before manager Terry Collins and a trainer joined him on the mound. Harvey departed with low back tightness.

From the sixth through 19th inning, the Marlins had one at-bat with runners in scoring position. They finished the game with nine hits in their final 51 turns (.176).

The Mets were worse, stranding 22 runners and going 10 for their last 64 (.156).

“I’ve been a part of those games,” Redmond said. “You get so tired and a little bit frustrated. Guys swing early in the count and everybody is trying to get the big hit. When you finally get it, it feels good.”